Hope. Joy.. Feelings cloaked as words.

If you are given a glass of plain coloured water to drink and be told that it is going to have certain side effects- dizziness, hallucination, and mere irritation subcutaneously, you might believe that it might be true. If the drink is further illustrated as a medicine or supplement to be run as a test, the ‘side effects’ are going to be even more prominent.

This is called the placebo effect, it can act as a positive surplus or an adverse effect. What it does is that the placebo effect plays with our faith or rather in what we believe. The adage- faith can move mountains, is bona fide, if our mind is set to believe that it can be done. Therefore, the statement mind over matters is a credence.

I have a friend who sold Chinese artefacts with exorbitant prices where the ‘artefacts’ are just normal objects touched with the placebo effect. He was in this line for a few months, and he made a booming profit from a marginal cost, for instance selling a random shiny ordinary rock for RM 3000 where you can pick it up anywhere in the park.

Here is where the placebo effect come into play, nobody is stupid enough to buy a rock for RM 3000, but with his deft convincing skills and word play, he was able to give the customers an assurance and faith that the rock is of utmost importance in changing their lives. However, after the customers re-visited him in a few months time, most of them cited that their business or their lives flourished significantly, and they bought a few more ‘artefacts’ from him. This is where he was able to fork out a lot of cash from the placebo effect.

Our mindset is easily deceived by pretty words and shiny objects, literally and figuratively. My friend had utilised his persuasive articulation and human relation to blur the reality out of our sight, replacing it with an imaginary and a faith that will instill your mind to fulfill whatever your desires are.

Therapeutic medication also exploits the placebo effects to act as a panacea for patients who had lost all faith in western or eastern medication. When they sought for these therapeutic doctors, the patients will experience a more ‘human’ experience compared to traditional doctor’s consultations where the doctor will be more caring and more empathising to their patients, and the faith is built from there, cloaking the therapeutic medication with a mantle of hope that it can make miracles. However, the therapeutic medication are nothing more than sweets.

Faith indeed can move mountains and cross the seven seas. But, can sweets cure diseases? Can rocks help in your businesses? Can rocks be an enhancement to your life? It is imperative to deceive our systems at certain times, but the reality is always harsher than what you imagine, the counterfeit image that satisfies your desires or comply to your thoughts.

Do you agree with my statement? Have you ever been deceived in exploiting the placebo effect to your purposes? Is the placebo effect a deception or a catalyst? Leave your comments down below! Thank you 🙂

15 thoughts on “Placebo -ed”

I believe that it is a catalyst we have a choice what to believe and if you want something so bad then you can make it happen just by believing in it. I Love the fact about faith I believe selling someone positive faith is a plus in their world and possibly like you say can save lives! thank you for this piece.